Crews wrap up removal of 90-year-old southwest Michigan dam

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality announced this month that the work was completed to remove the Alcott Street dam in Kalamazoo.

The dam, which impounded Bryant Mill Pond on Portage Creek, was built in 1927 but no longer had a function. Instead, it prevented fish migration and held contaminated sediment in place.

The project was funded by $2 million from the Kalamazoo River Natural Resource Damage Trustees. The DEQ says it provided about $3.1 million in additional funding for the project to conduct a feasibility study and to excavate and properly dispose of contaminated soils and sediments.